So, my dad was tired of not being able to reach me since I no longer have a phone. He sent me a cordless home phone and magicJack. The phone connects to the magicJack which you plug into a USB port on the computer and you make calls through your DSL line. It also stores your contacts on a program on your computer.

It's one of those As Seen on TV products that you're not really supposed to trust. But my dad heard good things from people who have used it and wanted me to try it. So far, it's working really well. The service is unlimited local and long distance calls for $20 a year. Which is nice for me since the last thing I need is another monthly bill. Plus, when you buy the device, the first year comes with the purchase so I won't need to pay anything for a year. The only catch is that we need internet in order to use it but that's really no problem for us.

In a fit of paranoia, I looked it up online. There are a lot of complaints about their customer service, connection issues, and billing (for people who did the free trial). A lot of those issuing complaints call it a scam. So far I haven't run into any problems but we'll see how it goes.

I had heard of Skype before he sent me this but hadn't looked into it. I guess it's kind of similar only without video. I don't really like talking on the phone so I only use it when I have to. Skype would be kind of a waste on me anyway.

I'm still wary of products like these so I won't be surprised if it ends up being a total piece of crap. For the time being, however, I haven't been given any reason to consider it a scam. I've called my parents on it and everything's in working order. Yay phone service.

I don't have a landline (just a prepaid cell) and this seems pretty kickass, if it works. I always have to be rude and rush people off the phone because I can't afford to use a lot of minutes. Can you get inbound calls on it, too?

Eh, it's not really great. My grandparent's have it, and I'm pretty sure it has the same number as someone's cell phone, because sometimes it connects to some guy named Craig's voicemail. For a while I thought I was just dialing the wrong number, but my cellphone told me I wasn't, and my cousin had similar problems. The few times I've actually used it, the service and stuff was okay, I guess. It sound of sorts like when I'm on my cell phone in a place with shotty reception. I still say you try it out, because it might work better for you, but don't expect miracles.

To quote a bible, "The water monster is right, Catman. They are among us."

Had our first issue with it. We could send out and receive calls but couldn't hear anything. Restarting the computer made it work again. I think they might have rushed the software so it's kind of buggy? Or it could just be my computer.

The Other Lizard wrote:Skype is free if you are calling someone else's skype. Just putting that out there.

Yeah, but I don't have a decent mic (mine cuts out a lot. There's a short in it somewhere) and most if not all of the people I would need to call or get a call from don't have it. I have it, but I'm not a huge fan of it at all. That might have something to do with my crappy laptop though. It likes to randomly attempt to make a call when I'm trying to figure out how to do stuff on it.

"He weeps for he has but one small tongue with which to taste an entire world." - Dr. Mungmung

I have had magicjack for over a year now and it has worked very well for the price. Occasionally I have to restart my computer for updates, but for twenty dollars a year, i dont think it can be beat. Also I got to take my number with me (since I usually move a lot this was a good thing).